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What are the Optimism Mental Health Apps?

They are self-tracking applications, designed to help you increase your understanding of all the things that affect your mental health. The apps act as a springboard to detect patterns in your health and develop strategies to proactively manage depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions.

Key Features

Develop and monitor strategies, specific to you, that help you remain in good health.

Grow in your understanding of “triggers” that affect you, and the early warning signs of a new episode.

Find concrete starting points for working out what and how things are affecting your mental health. Charts and reports form a feedback loop, which helps you detect these factors more easily.

Document a wellness plan that details your strategies and appropriate steps in the event of illness. Update it regularly as your circumstances change and self-understanding increases.

Optimism Feedback, Quotes and More Info

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The Optimism Apps are highly regarded. The latest versions of the iPhone/iPad and Mac versions are rated 5 stars in the US App Stores (59 votes and 13 votes respectively). Use the arrows to scroll through comments.

What an AWESOME App! Very Helpful!Andrew Garton, United States on Jul 24
I am a clinically depressed male, and I struggle with the illness every day. This app is really helpful in helping me track what issues I need to work on, and what I do that helps. It's very easy to customize for more personal issues. I would say that out of the 10 various apps I bought in the last 3 weeks for my new macbook, this is by far my favorite.

Usefulness of OptimismSUOT, United Kingdom on Aug 17
I can speak both as a mental health and wellbeing service user and as an occupational therapist. I do really like this piece of software and feel it is appropriate for its intended purpose. I feel that the software encompasses the idea of mental wellbeing, recovering and condition management perfectly. It is also a similar format to Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP), but in an electronic, easy to use and accessible format. Optimism also further promotes ICT skills and insight into one's own condition. Similarly to WRAP, I would also recommend that this piece of software is to be used in conjunction with any existing care/treatment plans that a person has, not as a stand alone self-help package. Thinking as a mental health professional as well as a service user, I would be happy for my clients to suggest this software, as would my colleagues and naturally vice-versa...

I used your evaluation licenses with a few of my patients, each of whom found excellent value in their experience using the Optimism app over the past six weeks.

Before they began using Optimism, I worked with each individually to get an initial feel for each section and scale to ensure they had a good sense of how to negotiate the app itself. Then I asked them to simply use it daily for one week and discuss their experiences during the next session. The follow-up sessions were very positive. Those who could brought a laptop to the follow-up session. I reviewed their daily entries, how they used the app and together we worked with each section to customize several options based on their specific needs.

Since using Optimism, each reported they were more aware of their mood, level of anxiety, and thoughts, feelings, and circumstances that seemed to affect their quality and length of sleep. All found the "notes" section very useful. Some of the feedback, since using Optimism, included feeling more "grounded", "mindful", and "present", as well as experiencing fewer panic attacks and dissociative episodes, somewhat improved mood, and increased compliance with prescribed psychotropic medication.

...I realize my sample size is well below what is required for an empirical test. However, my initial (albeit anecdotal) results are extremely promising and well worth recommending these apps to other patients, as well as, other clinicians using CBT in their practices.

To be honest, I was skeptical when I first downloaded this app. I didn't think it'd be as helpful as it has turned out to be! Being able to have a place to write my thoughts, under password protection, and then be able to see graphs based on my entries to chart improvements or areas of concern is brilliant. I've used this app every day for over a month now and I'll be using it for a long time to come. Not only is it helping me at home, but also at work. I use the iPhone app on the move and sync it all together when I get home. 5/5 from me. Thanks for a brilliant, useful app!

Started with this company's 'CBT Pad' which, when combined with the excellent response to feedback sent to Optimism Apps, convinced me to buy this more expensive product. Absolutely no regrets, reliable, useful, easy to learn and just the sort of tool for tracing triggers for various moods and behaviors. If you are receiving CBT or taking the 'teach yourself' route with one of the many books on the subject available, I am sure you will find this an invaluable tool.

I have been using this software for the past couple of months, and it has been extremely helpful in picking up subtle patterns. I suffer ongoing migraine headaches (5+ years of daily symptoms), and Optimism has been helpful in following the effects of changes in medication. I have also, due to my own ineptness, needed some tech support, and James has been prompt, helpful and patient. I could not ask for more from the software, being incredibly flexible to customize to my needs, or the developer, so eager to help. Incidentally, this software could easily be adapted for depression sufferers, those with chronic pain, or even athletes. It is ideal for someone working with a doctor to adjust medication levels, and needing to determine the effectiveness of the changes...Optimism can be completely tailored to track the information you need in fairly precise detail. This allows for a much easier, objective assessment of how you are doing over a period of time, or how changes are affecting you.

I really enjoy using this utility. It gives a really great overview of the individual positive and negative elements of your day along with a perfect little jotter of a journal to add specific notes (or to keep a more extensive diary). The degree of customization is really high which makes this program able to suit YOUR specific needs. I am definitely recommending this one :) Bless.

Started with this company's 'CBT Pad' which, when combined with the excellent response to feedback sent to Optimism Apps, convinced me to buy this more expensive product. Absolutely no regrets, reliable, useful, easy to learn and just the sort of tool for tracing triggers for various moods and behaviors. If you are receiving CBT or taking the 'teach yourself' route with one of the many books on the subject available, I am sure you will find this an invaluable tool.

I can speak both as a mental health and wellbeing service user and as an occupational therapist. I do really like this piece of software and feel it is appropriate for its intended purpose. I feel that the software encompasses the idea of mental wellbeing, recovering and condition management perfectly. It is also a similar format to Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP), but in an electronic, easy to use and accessible format. Optimism also further promotes ICT skills and insight into one's own condition. Similarly to WRAP, I would also recommend that this piece of software is to be used in conjunction with any existing care/treatment plans that a person has, not as a stand alone self-help package. Thinking as a mental health professional as well as a service user, I would be happy for my clients to suggest this software, as would my colleagues and naturally vice-versa...

From the National Institute of Mental Health Bipolar Disorder booklet:
“Keeping a chart of daily mood symptoms, treatments, sleep patterns, and life events can help the doctor track and treat the illness most effectively. Sometimes this is called a daily life chart. If a person's symptoms change or if side effects become serious, the doctor may switch or add medications.”

For detailed information about the National Institute of Mental Health Life Chart (NIMH-LCMTM) visit Medscape (requires login). Note that the NIMH Life Chart is a paper-based system and is not the same as the Optimism mood charting application, although they have similar methodologies and purposes.

“Optimism has become one of the fundamental keys in my treatment and I appreciate your help...Thanks again. I have a better life due to your noble work in this amazing product.”Newton MotaSalvador, Brazil

“I really like this software a lot as I have been going through many changes in my life and don’t always have the best memory. I also love that you make yourself available to us, the customers.”Scott GarnettWestlake Village, USA

Why Would I use a Mood Chart?

5 Good Reasons to Use a Mood Chart

Triggers and warning signs. By using a mood chart you can monitor the patterns in your life and identify negative influences (or "triggers") that you need to avoid, and early warning signs that your health is deteriorating.

Wellness strategies. A mood chart can help you to find the small things, as well as the big, that help you to stay well. It can show you the impact of the positive strategies that you adopt on your well-being.

Planning for health. A mood chart should help you form an understanding of your triggers and symptoms, and which health strategies work for you. A good mood chart should help you plan for good health, not just keep a record of illness.

Actively participate. Rather than be a passive recipient of treatment, or just seek treatment in reaction to a new episode, a mood chart can help you to have more involvement in your health and a sense of control. In general people achieve better health outcomes when they educate themselves and are proactive about their health.

A health professional's dream. By keeping a mood chart you can provide your health professional with a precise, detailed history. It removes the problem of memory recall and gives an accurate picture of what has been happening. It gets to the bottom of what is or isn't working, which helps them to give more relevant, appropriate advice and treatment.

5 Good Reasons to use Optimism

Helpful. The applications can be customized to suit your specific life circumstances. A continual feedback loop, in the form of charts and reports, is powerful in helping you discover the drivers of your mental health, and what is helping or hindering you.

Easy to use. The apps are much easier to use than paper mood charts. As one person commented, "My current system: find any scrap of paper, use a crayon, magic marker, lipstick, pen, pencil - anything that writes, scribble illegibly on piece of paper, lose piece of paper. This system sounds SO much better. Easy. Portable. Organized. You can't lose it."

Responsive support. We provide ongoing, friendly support. There is no ticket system. If you contact us a real person replies! As well as support queries, we are always grateful for feedback and suggestions for improving the apps.

Updates are free. All updates to the apps are free for life, which is unusual for software. Given that their purpose is helping people with their mental health, we think it's better that everyone benefit from all improvements.

Continuous development. A team of programmers is continuously improving the applications. Between January 2008 and October 2010 there were 35 releases for the Windows and Mac software, all of them available free for existing clients.